After watching Snape leave, Dumbledore continued, "You should know why I kept you here, right?"
"I know, Professor McGonagall said so." Ethan Jones was somewhat excited. Was the mystery finally about to be solved?
"I have good news and bad news to tell you. Which do you want to hear first?"
Ethan Jones's heart sank: "I want to hear the bad news first."
Dumbledore, not playing by the rules, seemed not to have heard what Ethan Jones had said, and continued, "Oh, good news. The good news is that Nicolas wrote back saying he does indeed have an alchemical artifact that can detect a wizard's bloodline."
Ethan Jones looked at him resentfully: "Headmaster, can you tell me the bad news now?"
"Cough cough." The white-bearded old man pretended to have a sore throat and coughed twice, looking a little embarrassed.
"Oh dear, I'm getting old, and my hearing isn't what it used to be. Now for the bad news: the alchemical artifact that Nicolas has crafted has been lent out and won't be returned anytime soon. It probably won't be sent to Hogwarts until after Christmas."
"This is under ideal conditions. If we can't get them back in a short time, it might be delayed." The old man looked helpless.
Ethan Jones was also somewhat disappointed. He had thought he would know the results soon, but it turned out that it would take at least three or four months.
"However, I have already written to the guy who borrowed the Bloodline Tablet, urging him to return it as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Headmaster!" After the twists and turns, Ethan Jones was slightly happier again.
"That's all. Would you like some candy? It just arrived from Honeydukes today." A plate of candy magically appeared on the coffee table.
"Alright, then I won't be polite." Ethan Jones, wanting to retaliate against Dumbledore for deliberately looking at his disappointed embarrassment earlier, grabbed handfuls of candy and stuffed them into the pocket of his wizard's robe.
Seeing Dumbledore's somewhat unhappy expression, Ethan Jones deliberately provoked him, "I have roommates and other friends. If I take more, the Headmaster shouldn't mind, right?"
"No, I'm very happy that you care about your friends." Dumbledore gritted his teeth.
"Could the Headmaster give me some more? I still have room in my pocket." Ethan Jones shrugged at one of his pockets, which was only half full.
Dumbledore pretended not to hear him and said, "Oh dear, I'm getting old and sleepy early. Jones, you should go back now. I should go to sleep too."
The old man stood up and even pretended to rub his lower back.
"Tch." Ethan Jones knew he was faking it, but he didn't dare go too far, so he stood up too: "Goodbye, Headmaster."
As he reached the door, he extended his hand again and placed it in front of Fawkes.
The phoenix nuzzled its head against his hand before he happily left.
After he left, Dumbledore laughed and muttered, "You little brat."
Ethan Jones, with a bag and a half of candy in his pocket, took the rotating staircase again.
It was past lunchtime, and he figured Hermione must have gone to the library, so he took his bulging bag of candy and went to the library to share his joy with the girl.
Upon arriving at the library on the fifth floor, he looked around, searching for Hermione's location.
"Huh? Hermione's not here today? That doesn't make sense." He was puzzled when he didn't see the familiar figure, but since he hadn't brought anything with him except his wand, he was also planning to leave.
As he walked toward the stairs, he happened to run into Hermione hurrying toward the library.
"Hermione, over here." Ethan Jones called out to the girl as she ran with her head down.
"You finally showed up. I just went to the door of Snape's office in the dungeons and saw him come back. I hid to the side and almost got discovered by him."
I can't get into your Slytherin Common Room either, and I thought you'd probably come to the library, so I came to see if you were there." Hermione's face showed a complex mix of worry and joy.
"It's nothing serious. It's just that the magic I cast last night caused a complaint from the Black Lake merpeople, and Dumbledore wants to talk to me."
Hermione frowned: "Complaint? What punishment did the Headmaster give you?"
Ethan Jones patted his pocket, catching Hermione's attention: "Don't worry, there's no punishment. I even got a lot of candy from him, delivered by a famous candy store off-campus. Want to try some?"
"Well, okay." Hermione, who had been taught from a young age not to eat too much sugar, hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Ethan Jones suggested, "Let's go to the library and eat it secretly. Mrs. Pince shouldn't find out."
Hermione immediately stopped him: "No, you'll be expelled from the library for eating! Ethan, you can't do that! It's against the rules!"
Although Ethan Jones was determined to try and see if he could fool Mrs. Pince, he ultimately failed under Hermione's watchful eye.
"How boring, Hermione. You can't be bound by rules forever. You have to learn to break them." After the library closed at eight o'clock, Ethan Jones was still regretting not getting any candy earlier. He muttered to Hermione.
Hermione glared at him, forcibly pulled a handful of candy from his pocket, and ran away.
Watching Hermione run off into the distance, Ethan Jones shook his head, casually pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth: "Really, she doesn't understand my good intentions at all."
He looked at the candy wrapper in his hand that said 'Honey Toffee' and nodded in satisfaction: "It tastes really good. Dumbledore's taste is indeed excellent. Next time I have the chance to go to his office, I must bring my bag and bring back a whole bag of them."
The next day was Saturday, and they were finally going to rest.
When Ethan Jones returned to his dorm that night, he kept three of each type of candy for himself and gave the rest to Draco and the other two.
Goyle and Crabbe were especially happy, and the two of them scrambled to stuff the candies into their mouths.
"You're so nice, Ethan!" Goyle's mouth was full of candy, and he was still unwrapping the wrapper.
"I'm glad you like it." Ethan Jones found it amusing; it was truly rare to see two people as gluttonous as the two of them.
Draco was a little annoyed. With his back to Ethan Jones, he glared at his two good-for-nothing henchmen.
But when it came to food, his two henchmen completely ignored him, acting as if they didn't see him at all, and continued to snatch candy from each other.
Draco, not wanting to see the two of them make a fool of themselves, asked Ethan Jones, who was sitting to the side with a Peppermint Toad in his mouth, "What do Head of House Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore want with you this time?"
"It's nothing serious. It's about the bloodline issue I asked you for help with before. Headmaster Dumbledore is also helping with that. That's what we're going to talk about." He didn't want to tell this somewhat cunning child everything.
"Any news from your side, Draco?"
Malfoy blushed slightly: "Well, not yet, but I've already written home, and I'm sure my father will have a solution."
"Really? That's good." Knowing that Draco might be lying, Ethan Jones didn't call him out on it.
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